The end of July menu

July is coming to a close.
School starts for us next week.
Sigh...summer is done.

Also, hubby is home after a month away at grad school (laundry has quadrupled) and I will be traveling to a music convention at the end of the week.  So there's that.

And while I'm certain my guys will eat out while I'm gone, I'm doing my best to make food readily accessible at the house so it will be just as easy to grab something from the fridge.

Here's the plan.
Sunday~
lunch: snack at the house
dinner: out for my Grandpa's 88th birthday
Monday~ 
lunch: miscellaneous items and leftovers as I clean out the fridge
dinner: Hawaiian chicken, rice, broccoli
Tuesday~
lunch: tomato sandwiches (from the garden) or salad
dinner: at Son #1 & DIL's house. My job is to bring jalapeño poppers and Paleo-friendly chocolate chip cookies.
Wednesday~
I leave to go out of town.  Leaving my guys with:
spaghetti
salad
brisket
sandwich fixings
Hopefully the damage won't be too bad.
Thursday-Saturday~
I will be away at the convention and my guys will be...doing what they do. ;)

Sunday after I return, we'll have lunch at my mom's house, so I will have a day to plan the following week. Yay for Mom's lasagna!!!

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Second Menu of July... and other things

Our 4th of July celebration was so much fun - family, baseball, fireworks... very full weekend and heart.

This week, school is on my mind.  While it is still early summer for most people, my thoughts are beginning to turn to my classroom in August.  Which I wish I could stop, but after 25 years, I guess I'm conditioned.

Anyway, hubs has two more weeks away at grad classes, and ds#3 continues to eat everything in sight.  I made a quiche for breakfast last week and he ate ALL BUT TWO PIECES IN ONE DAY.  Yeah, he's a machine.
Here's the plan for this week.

Sunday~ 
Lunch: at my mom & dad's.  Mom, sis & I bought two boxes of peaches last week and I picked up the rest of Mom's to freeze for her.  So she made lunch. :)
Dinner: Fend For YourSelf.  Neither of us was really hungry.
Monday~
Lunch: with ds#1 & family.  Details TBD.
Dinner: Chicken Bacon Alfredo.  Made from leftover chicken from last week, and coconut milk instead of regular dairy.  Ds#3 will eat over noodles.  I'll eat mine over broccoli.
Tuesday~
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Eggplant (from the garden) Parmesan with spaghetti (for ds#3, just eggplant for me)
Wednesday~ 
Lunch: salad w/cherry tomatoes from the garden & baked potato (if needed)
Dinner: BBQ chicken (crockpot), broccoli, chips
Thursday~
Lunch: pizza for ds, salad for me
Dinner: leftovers. I have a rehearsal.
Friday~
Lunch: out
Dinner: Burgers at home!
Saturday~
Leaving it open.  My brother-in-law has a concert that evening that we'll attend, so we may treat ourselves to a meal out.

What menu marvels are you cooking?  Share 'em at Menu Plan Monday!

July's first menu

Grandparents and great-grandparents
with my sis's baby girl.

It's been a whirlwind weekend.
My brother has been here from out of town, so we've gone fishing, had a family cookout, gone to a baseball game, and beach with fireworks. Whew!  The rest of this week will probably be a little quieter.

Jalapeno poppers

Sunday~ lunch: leftovers at home; dinner: at the ballpark
Monday~ lunch: at the beach picnic; dinner: leftovers from the picnic at the fireworks
Tuesday~ lunch: eggplant 'pie' for me and pizza rolls for ds; dinner: I'm going to try my hand at fish.... we'll see how it goes... and a baked potato and salad
Wednesday~ lunch: out w/a friend for me, and ds will fend for himself at home; dinner: homemade chili
Thursday~ lunch: leftovers; dinner: rotiserrie-style chicken in the crockpot, salad or broccoli
Friday~ lunch: leftovers; dinner: out w/the girls for me, and ds will have frozen pizza
Saturday~ TBD... we'll see what veggies we have and what needs to be eaten! :)

Eggplant pie - all ingredients fresh from the garden!
(Except the cheese)

Share what's cookin' in your kitchen at Menu Plan Monday!

Wrapping Up June Menu!

Wow, what a busy week we had!
Hubs left on Sunday for a month of grad classes in Ohio, so ds#3 and I are on our own for a few weeks.  We'll be having a pantry challenge to try to save a little money (we had to buy a new fridge!).

So here's our menu plan for this week:
Sunday~ leftover burgers from last week's cookout

Monday~ leftover taco meat and homemade salsa
Tuesday~ ds is spending the night with his big brother, who has moved back in town.  So I will probably eat something simple at the house by myself, or use a gift card to splurge
Wednesday~ ds will still be gone, so I'm having a girls night with my sis & friend!!
Thursday~ salad
Friday~ the men of my family are going fishing, so we will probably have some sort of fish fry at my parents' house
Saturday~ beach day and picnic with the fam

Not terribly exciting, but it'll get the job done!

Share what's cookin' in your casa at Menu Plan Monday.

June Menu #3 and garden updates

Jalapeños are going crazy.  Using them in poppers and homemade salsa.

Homemade salsa!  Cherry tomatoes, jalapeños from the garden.  Fresh and delicious.

Holy moly - the eggplant!  If you have recipes, do share!!

This week's menu:

Sunday~ HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Hubs requested homemade sub sandwiches for lunch, tacos for dinner, and peach cobbler for dessert.  Marine Son & his family joined us for dinner, so it was a great end to his happy day.  And easy for me!

Monday~  Pizza-stuffed peppers that we didn't get to last week.  We will also have leftover meatballs, and use some eggplant in fried eggplant spears.

Tuesday~  Big chef's salads.  The tomatoes are starting to come in and they are gorgeous! 

Wednesday~ BBQ chicken in the crockpot, Paleo 'cornbread', and whatever veg is coming in from the garden.  Maybe some fried okra.

Thursday~ Family cookout for the extended family to meet Marine Son's new baby girl! Since they've just arrived from Hawaii, none of the family has met her yet, and we are ALL excited to have another GIRL around!!! 

Friday~  Leftovers. Something very simple.

Saturday~ The last meal we will share with Hubs for a month - he leaves to go take graduate classes.  So this will be his request.

What's cookin' in your kitchen?  Share at Menu Plan Monday 

Summertime Menus! June Menu #2

Our garden is in full swing!!!
We altered our menu plan a little bit based on what was ripening in the garden.  This week will probably be the same way!
Last week.....
Sunday~ Five Guys Burgers.  Mmmmm.
Monday~ Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad.  A long name for a delicious salad!  I used leftover smoked chicken in the recipe. This was very tasty, but did not keep well for the next day.  When I make it again, I will keep the components separate and assemble just enough for that meal.  The avocado lime dressing was DELICIOUS!
Tuesday~ Kabobs (steak and chicken) and more jalapeño poppers.  Gotta use that garden produce!  We ended up having Pizza Stuffed Peppers because we had some bell peppers that were ripe.  Just fill with your favorite pizza toppings and bake.  Delish!  We will make that again.
Wednesday~ Meatball casserole. Unless the eggplant in the garden are ready.  At which point we will have eggplant parmesan!  I did make meatballs but I also made eggplant parmesan.  And it was delicious!!!
Thursday~ Antipasto Salad A Pinterest recipe. (C'mon... it's summer...)  Leftovers.  I love the relaxed pace of summertime meals!
Friday~ Burgers on the grill.  Yummy.  Hubs & I ended up going to dinner - we were dropping off items for a church rummage sale at that time so we stopped to grab a bite.
Saturday~ Hubs & I are celebrating 22 years of marriage.  We're going out to fondue!

So this week, there will probably be some of the same adjustments....
Sunday~ Beef on the grill. Tomato basil salad (like a caprese salad) using up some of the basil and cherry tomatoes that are ripening, roasted baby potatoes, grilled zucchini.  Yum!
Monday~ Burgers on the grill, chips, jalapeño poppers (they are exploding in the garden!), grilled pineapple.  I keep the poppers pretty mild by seeding and removing all the ribs inside the peppers.  My teenager LOVES these.  We're having dinner guests. Fun times!
Tuesday~ Leftovers.
Wednesday~ Eggplant pie (slices of eggplant as the base, topped with various veggies, sprinkled with cheese, baked in the oven), spaghetti for the non-veggie lovers :)
Thursday~  Leaving this open for leftovers or dinner out.
Friday~ My sister & I have a date with our dad to celebrate Father's Day.  My guys will fend for themselves.
Saturday~  Marine Son & his family are flying home... to stay! We will meet them at the airport then go to Olive Garden to celebrate their arrival.

So... what summertime delicacies are you enjoying? Share at Menu Plan Monday!

June Menus!

Holy moly, it's summer!
We survived the school year and have now entered the somewhat more relaxed pace of summertime.  Our garden is in full swing and we are just beginning to harvest some of its bounty - the best part.

Our former Airman Son flew back to his home in Denver after staying with us for about 4 weeks. Here's last week's menu while he was still here:
Sunday: BBQ chicken, onion rings, wedge salad  baseball game with the fam that evening
Monday: Family cookout - burgers, dogs, sausage on the grill, jalapeño poppers (the peppers came fresh from our garden!), potato salad & deviled eggs courtesy of my mom, and broccoli salad courtesy of my sister.  We had ice cream pie and homemade apple cherry pie for dessert.
Tuesday: Fend For Yourself
Wednesday: hubs decided it was a good day for smoked meat.  Smoked brisket, smoked chicken breast, tossed salad, jalapeño cheddar 'cornbread' (Paleo style).
Thursday: Another Fend For Yourself.  Son #2 flew out, I had to sit in on job interviews for our school's band director, and I had a rehearsal that evening.
Friday: ds#3 had buddies over for basketball so I ordered pizza.  Everyone picked at it all afternoon into dinnertime.
Saturday: breakfast for dinner.

This week's plan:
Sunday~ Five Guys Burgers.  Mmmmm.
Monday~ Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad.  A long name for a delicious salad!  I used leftover smoked chicken in the recipe.
Tuesday~ Kabobs (steak and chicken) and more jalapeño poppers.  Gotta use that garden produce!
Wednesday~ Meatball casserole. Unless the eggplant in the garden are ready.  At which point we will have eggplant parmesan!
Thursday~ Antipasto Salad A Pinterest recipe. (C'mon... it's summer...)
Friday~ Burgers on the grill.  Yummy.
Saturday~ Hubs & I are celebrating 22 years of marriage.  We're going out to fondue!

What about you?  What's cookin' in your casa?  Are you gardening?
Check out Menu Plan Monday for more ideas.

April Menu Wrap-up

So this week, we ate out more than I would have liked, but life is so busy that I feel like it's an accomplishment just to get us all fed, regardless of where it comes from!

Son #2 is visiting us, and we love having him here.  Son #3 is getting busier, as are his dad and I, and it's reflected in the time I haven't spent in the kitchen.  Ah well.  We shall try again this week. :)

Sunday~ I made pulled BBQ chicken and an apple-cabbage slaw for the guys, and I headed out with my mom and a dear friend to have a last shop for my sister before her baby girl arrives.  We ate lunch out and shopped and laughed and had a marvelous time.
Monday~ Miscellaneous must-goes.  Hubs has online class right after work, so it's a fend-for-yourselves sort of dinner.  Everyone hunts in the fridge for what they like.
Tuesday~ More leftovers.
Wednesday~ I had a dinner meeting, but I cooked for my guys before I left.  I made iceberg lettuce wedge salads (they are LOVING those) with homemade dressing, and choice of spaghetti or alfredo with pasta.  There were very little leftovers!
Thursday~ Hubs came home from work feeling sick.  He requested a burger from Five Guys for dinner, so that's what we did.
Friday~ Ds#3 had an after-school rehearsal, so we hit the drive-thru on the way home and had Chick-fil-A for all.  Hubs stayed home as he was not 100% (I'm not sure he was even 75%) so this was an easy dinner for Mom.
Saturday~ Hubs is feeling better.  Woo hoo!!!  Burgers on the grill - delish!!!!

Connect with Menu Plan Monday and share what's cookin' in your casa!
Also check out Meal Plan Monday at Southern Plate. Delish!

Holy Moly, it's April.

Well.
We've been busy.... I guess that's an understatement.
Life has been very full and we are still alive and well.

Because I cannot seem to get my act together to post what we are eating for the coming week, I will post what we have eaten... for now, anyway. :)

Son #2, formerly Airman Son, has been visiting this month, and we are thrilled to have him home after living all over the place.  So our menus have been a little more reflective of that.

In other news, we've got bell peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes planted in the garden.  We also have basil and rosemary, and lemon balm (I'm so excited about this one - it smells so amazing!!!).  We still have collards and lavender to plant, which will happen this weekend.  The blueberries are blooming and it is so exciting to see all the growing things.


Sunday~ Steaks on the grill, iceberg wedge salad, oven-roasted parmesan zucchini wedges (they were not as good as they sound... they were tasty, but I'll change up the recipe when I try them again.)
Monday~ Spaghetti for the guys, zucchini boats for me.  (I stuffed the zucchini with the spaghetti sauce and baked in the oven.  Pretty tasty.)
Tuesday~ Homemade meatballs, mashed potatoes & gravy, broccoli.  Cozy and scrumptious after a messy rainy day.
Wednesday~ Hubs & I had tickets to see our local baseball team play. It rained all day, so we weren't sure it was actually going to happen, but we managed to get in a quick dinner date and a few innings at the ballpark before we decided it was too cold. We called it in the 4th inning. ;)
Thursday~ Tacos.  With meat, cheese, avocado, salsa, sour cream... all the trimmings.  Messy and delicious.
Friday~ Must-goes.  There is chicken, spaghetti sauce, and random other bits.  And there are always eggs to fill in the gaps if someone can't find something they like!
Saturday~ TBD. Grocery day.

Marvelous Menus abound at Menu Plan Monday!

What we've been eating, and the (Failed) Pantry Challenge

Well, I usually do a Pantry Challenge in January.  But this year, I failed.
It didn't happen.
So I'm moving it to FEBRUARY!!!!! :)

Life has been chaotic and unpredictable, and I had to go out of town for nearly a week, so I decided not to sweat the pantry challenge.  Although we do really need to save some money, it will be in the upcoming month instead of this one.

So here's what we've been eating in the midst of our craziness:
Sunday~ Out to lunch.  I had been out of town almost all of the preceding week, and needed to go to the grocery store.  So we went out.
Monday~ Rotisserie-style chicken and steamed broccoli.
Tuesday~ various leftovers in the fridge.
Wednesday~ Tacos.  I tried a gluten-free tortilla, and it was surprisingly good!
Thursday~ Fend For Yourself.  Mom had a late practice.
Friday~ BBQ chicken, twice baked potatoes (from the freezer), broccoli
Saturday~ Tomato soup.  It is COLD.
Sunday~ A pretty amazing Sausage, Potato and Spinach soup.  I put it in the slow cooker and let it simmer while we were at church.  When I got home, I added the spinach, and made some cheesy bread for my guys.  It was a hit with everyone - my 15 y.o. said, "I can't even taste the spinach," to which my husband replied, "But it's so good for you".... MY HEART WAS PROUD!! And I forgot to add the cream - my guys loved it without.

This week should be a little calmer, and payday is this week.  (It's been six weeks since our last payday, so we are READY for it!!!!)

Share your menu marvels at Menu Plan Monday!